In 2016 the taxpayers of Spain received from the European Union 8 euros per head over what they contributed. Since its accession to the EU the country has received from the European Union EUR 95056 million over what it has contributed. Select a year in the upper right-hand corner to see details for other years.

Note that this breakdown compares fiscal transfers only and does not include other costs and benefits connected with membership in the EU (administrative costs, co-funding of EU projects, effects of EU legislation on domestic prices etc.).

Kingdom of Spain became a member of the European Community in 1986. In November 1993 the European Community transformed itself into the European Union. Spain's Accession Treaty is available here.

Payment

in mil EUR

in % of GDP

in EUR per capita

GNI-based own resource
The GNI-based contribution equals approximately 0,6% of a member state's Gross National Income (GNI). The rate is calculated for each year to cover the difference between the budgeted expenditures and expected income from all other resources. GNI is the well known Gross Domestic Product (GDP) minus money made by foreigners in the coutry, plus money made by coutry's residents abroad. (Therefore, countries with a high proportion of foreign workers have their GNI much lower than the GDP - e.g. Luxembourg.) For the period 2007-2013, two countries have rebates from this contribution: the Netherlands' contribution shall be reduced by EUR 605 million and Sweden's by EUR 150 million expressed in 2004 prices.

-7,220.00

-0.65

-155.47

Customs and Agriculture duties paid by taxpayers
The EU sets and collects import duties (reported as customs duties and agriculture duties). Currently consumers in the EU pay more than EUR 20 billion on these levies. As these levies are indirect taxes, the importers who pay them to the EU are not those who bear the burden. Therefore, we multiply the sum of these taxes collected from all EU taxpayers by each member state's share in imports to the EU, in order to calculate how much the taxpayers of this country have contributed on these indirect taxes.

-1,571.96

-0.14

-33.85

VAT-based own resource
The VAT-based own resource is a member state's contribution calculated as the rate of 0.3% multiplied by the base, which equals 50% of the member state's Gross National Income (GNI). GNI is the well known Gross Domestic Product (GDP) minus money made by foreigners in the coutry, plus money made by the coutry's residents abroad. (Therefore, countries with a high proportion of foreign workers have their GNI much lower than their GDP - e.g. Luxembourg.) For the period 2007-2013 four countries have a rebate from the rate: instead of the standard rate of 0.3%, Austria pays 0.225%, Germany pays 0.15% and Netherlands and Sweden pay 0.1%.

-1,416.90

-0.13

-30.51

UK correction (= the "rebate")
The UK correction (the "British rebate") is a compensation negotiated by UK's Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher at a Council summit in 1984. In principle, the remaining member states give Britain each year 66% of the difference between its VAT-based and GNI-based contributions to the EU budget on the one hand, and the EU subsidies received by Britain on the other. The individual contributions are based on the countries' share in the European GNI (minus Britain). Four countries - Netherlands, Germany, Sweden and Austria - have a rebate from the rebate, paying only 25 % of their share in the GNI. The remaining states finance these rebates from the British rebate according to their shares in the GNI. That is why for example the Czech Republic pays more than Sweden or Austria.

-835.00

-0.07

-17.98

Reduction in GNI-own resource granted to NL and SE
Contributions for Netherlands and Sweden for their allowances from GNI based contributions

-83.10

-0.01

-1.79

Sugar levies
Within its Common Agriculture Policy, the EU sets quotas for the volume of sugar that can be produced in its member states. The governments of the member states then have to distribute the quotas to individual sugar producers. The sugar producers pay the EU fees for these quotas. In 2007 the figure is positive for some countries, since the EU has paid compensation payments to some sugar processors for closing down their factories.

-6.30

0.00

-0.14

Citizenship
Since 2007 the EU reports under this heading subsidies within its "Solidarity Fund". The payments include financial assistance by the fund to countries affected by flooding or draught. Under this heading the EU also sponsors national consumer protection agencies and finances the following EU's agencies: the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, in Stockholm and the European Food Safety Authority, in Parma.

182.70

0.02

3.93

Competitiveness
Since 2007 the EU distributes money through the European Research Council (ERC) to various research projects. Under this heading also trans-European rail networks are supported.

1,247.70

0.11

26.87

Cohesion
The EU's seccond biggest expenditure - after agriculture subsidies - are regional subsidies from the so-called Structural funds. In general, these subsidies are available for applicants from regions where GDP per head is below 75% of the EU average, or from countries where GDP per head is below 90 % of the EU average. But there are exemptions allowing people and organisations from rich regions to apply as well.

3,779.70

0.34

81.39

Natural resources (=farm subsidies)
Since 2007 the EU has improved its newspeak. What used to be known as Agriculture Subsidies is now called "preservation and management of natural resources". However, it is still the same old thing: payments to farmers based on the volume of their livestock or of the area of their soil, and the taxpayers' money used for interventions in the food market, namely the EU-organized purchases of milk, butter, wheat etc., in order to keep the prices of these commodities high, and to cover the costs of storing them.